San Diego State University has spent nearly $26 million to buy a 50-unit apartment complex for student housing — on land near campus that an SDSU auxiliary sold in 2009 for $1.83 million.

A limited liability company in Texas had bought the undeveloped land, then constructed the four-story building with its own financing in 2011 and sold the property back to SDSU in late September.

Existing tenants will be allowed to remain through this school year, and then the complex will be converted to university housing next fall.

The price of the recent purchase works out to be more than $500,000 per apartment. One local broker said that figure may be a record high in San Diego County, although others said investors don’t view student housing the same way traditional multifamily housing is measured.

“Wow, that’s a big number,” Marco Sessa, senior vice president of Sudberry Properties, said of the $25.75 million the university paid. “It sounds like maybe we should be developing student housing.”

San Diego State officials said they bought the complex because the owners were looking to sell it, because of its location and because the school is facing a high demand for housing — particularly from freshmen, who are guaranteed housing.

The complex, known as The Granada on Hardy, is about a block from Viejas Arena on the corner of Hardy Avenue and 55th Street. It’s “literally closer than some of our own existing housing inventory,” said University Architect Bob Schulz, who is SDSU’s associate vice president of operations.

According to an appraisal done by CBRE for the university in July, the building was more than 95 percent occupied and in good condition. The report set the market value at $26 million based on it generating $2.38 million in annual gross income.

Although the sales price had some local real estate professionals raising their eyebrows, Schulz said the transaction shouldn’t be viewed on a per-unit basis because the apartments are rented to students on a per-bed basis, which results in a higher income stream.

“They are very different markets,” he said, adding that SDSU is paying market rate for the property.

The complex includes two levels of underground parking, tanning beds, a study room and a community room. Under its current management, residents pay $999 to $1,750 per month, according to its website.

Looked at from a per-unit basis, the complex may be the most expensive apartment project sold in the county, although the rents generated appear to support the sales price, said Alan Nevin, director or economic and market research for Xpera Group, a West Coast construction-consulting firm.

The project was built after the San Diego State University Research Foundation — a nonprofit that supports the school’s educational mission and research work — decided to sell the property to raise cash. The sale came during the recession, a time when few developers were able to borrow money to acquire land or pay for construction projects.

The university had no plans for developing the property and didn’t oppose the sale, but asked that it be given first right of refusal when the complex was later sold, Schulz said.